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Crawford begins recovery from Tommy John surgery

Crawford begins recovery from Tommy John surgery

8/20/12: Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington discusses Carl Crawford's decision to undergo Tommy John surgery on his left elbow

By Gary Gillis
/
Special to MLB.com |

They are in vastly different lines of work, but both Dr. James Andrews and Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington were recently involved in some major reconstruction that involved Carl Crawford.

Dr. Andrews performed Tommy John surgery on the outfielder's left elbow. Cherington orchestrated a nine-player deal that sent Crawford, Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez and Nick Punto (along with more than $250 million in salary obligation) from the Red Sox to the Dodgers.

The results of Cherington's work are already on display. If sports radio and blog comments are any indication, there has already been a significant healing of psychological wounds among the fan base.

Recovery from Tommy John surgery is a lengthy process. The usual timeframe is 12 to 18 months when you're talking about pitchers, but position players such as Crawford are more likely to be back closer to a year.

So Crawford and his new employer, the Los Angeles Dodgers, will have to wait a good deal longer before passing judgment on the doctor's handiwork. When it comes to elbow reconstruction, Dr. Andrews has a reputation of being one of the best.

"For a throwing athlete, this is as significant as it can get, surgically speaking." said Dr. Joe DeAngelis, a surgeon in the Sports Medicine Division of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "Yes, James Andrews performs this procedure routinely, but there is nothing routine about it. Few things are as invasive or delicate as reconstruction of the ulnar collateral ligament."

Thirty-eight years ago, desperate pitcher Tommy John approached Dr. Frank Jobe, looking for a way to repair his torn UCL and resurrect his career. How desperate? When Dr. Jobe presented the idea of an untried surgery that involved harvesting a non-essential tendon from John's wrist, threading it through a few holes that had been drilled in his humerus and ulna (two of the three bones that meet at your elbow) and suturing it together, the pitcher essentially said, "What have I got to lose?"

John never won a Cy Young Award, though he did come in second in voting twice. He won 164 games and pitched for 14 seasons after the surgery. I guess you could say that surgery was a success. That one, plus the thousands like it that have been performed since. His bust may not be in Cooperstown, but he's immortalized in the annals of orthopedic surgery.

"When Dr. Jobe conjured up the idea, nobody knew if it would work," DeAngelis said. "Now, it's a tried and true procedure. But frankly, the surgery is just the beginning. In my opinion, the success or failure depends on the rehab."

As Dr. DeAngelis pointed out, a UCL tear is almost always the result of the wear and tear of a repetitive throwing motion, specifically a throwing motion that lacks good mechanics. If you don't fix the mechanics, you haven't really fixed the problem.

"Think about it. Players have reached the Major League level by doing things a certain way," DeAngelis said. "Now they have to change. These guys have to break their bad habits or risk re-injury. They have to learn how to throw all over again in a way that is going to reduce the strain on their elbow. It's not always easy."

But there is plenty of incentive for a professional athlete. Anything (within the rules) that can preserve or extend the relatively brief window of opportunity to capitalize on their talent is worth exploring. Not that Crawford has to worry about that. He's got five years left on a deal that will pay him more than $20 million a season. He hopes he has a chance to earn it.

I wish him well ... and so do the Dodgers.

Gary Gillis is a contributor to MLB.com. The BID Injury Report is a regular column on redsox.com. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is the official hospital of The Boston Red Sox. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.